In the recently published international World Population Review 2023 or Crime Rate by Country 2023 report, the rating of the countries regarding socio-political stability, the number of criminal incidents and the degree of stability was determined. A country's place and score in the ranking were calculated based on the total crime rate and the number of crimes per 100,000 people. According to the number of crimes, the worst result in the world is in Venezuela. This country has the highest crime index with 83.76 points. source
The country with the lowest number of crimes and the top 10 in the crime index starts with Qatar and ends with Georgia. In that group of 10 countries, Armenia ranked 9th with 22.79 points. Azerbaijan ranked 33rd with 32.02 points, and Turkiye ranked 48th with 39.62 points.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that after 2019, the implementation of legal reforms in the country and the adoption of the legislative package in the field of criminal offenses led to progress, and this factor in turn led to the improvement of the country's position in the World Population Review 2023 and Crime Rate by Country 2023 reports.
How accurate are the figures in the report? Faktyoxla Lab. has conducted research in this direction.
According to statistics, after 2019, the number of general crimes in Armenia began to increase year by year. In that year, 26,850 crimes were registered in Armenia. Although the number of criminal incidents remained stable in 2020, there was a significant increase in 2021. In that year, the total number of registered crimes grew by 14.3% or 3,777 facts and made 30,245.
In 2022, the situation has reached an even more unbearable level. The Prosecutor General of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, said that in 2022, 37,612 criminal cases were registered in the country, which means 7,367 or 24.4 percent more than in 2021. In particular, the number of serious crimes increased by 29.8%. 21,604 of the crimes were committed in the capital Yerevan alone. This means 68 percent of the total number of crimes.
The chief prosecutor noted that the absolute majority of crimes (84.1%) are crimes of low and medium severity.
Last year in Armenia, in addition to cases of harming the health of the population, domestic violence, identity, public order and security, theft, etc. the number of crimes has also increased. This expresses the picture of the unstable social situation in the country. (link)
According to the report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, in 2022, illegal drug trafficking increased by 743, arms trafficking by 173, and cases of car hooliganism by 3,602 facts. The volume of crimes related to the illegal circulation of narcotics set a record, and there was an increase of 76.3 percent. Also, cases of illegal possession of weapons in the country have increased significantly. link
Petty crimes, especially theft and pickpocketing, have increased enormously. According to the new criminal code of Armenia, pickpocketing is considered a more serious crime, and therefore new articles have been added to the criminal legislation in recent years, and punishments have been increased. However, despite this, the increase in the level of unemployment and poverty in the country cannot prevent the decrease in the number of these criminal cases. In 2020, 390 cases of pickpocketing were recorded in the capital, Yerevan, and in 2022, this number reached 468.
As can be seen, the total number of crimes registered in Armenia in 2019-2022 increased by 45 percent, reaching 37,600 from 26,800.
These statistics show that the criminogenic situation in Armenia is worse. Thus, the number of crimes committed last year in Armenia with a population of 2.9 million was 37,600, and in Azerbaijan with a population of 10.2 million it was 36,900. If we divide these figures per 100,000 people according to the total population or according to the accepted practice in the world, the number of crimes per 100,000 people in Armenia is 1,260 (37,612/2.9 million = 1,260), and in Azerbaijan, per 100,000 people there are 361 criminal cases. source
The brutal treatment of the authorities towards their political opponents, the widespread use of non-democratic methods of struggle, and relying on the power of law enforcement agencies in these processes to protect political stability under fear and force reflect the characteristic governance of Armenia.
The US Integrated Country Strategy 2022 report included risks related to the political situation in Armenia. The document mentions cases of physical and moral violence against political organizations, civil society institutions, independent media, judicial crimes and other cases that threaten public stability in this country.
Also, the US State Department has expressed concern about public stability related to police clashes in Armenia.
The Helsinki Committee of Armenia has presented several times a report on the danger of public stability.
In the Nations in Transit 2022 report of Freedom House, Armenia was ranked among the countries where social stability is more disturbed. In the report by Reporters Without Borders, points related to the social and political situation were expressed. link
In addition, Armenia was assessed as one of the worst countries in terms of unstable, security situation in the region. The US government has repeatedly appealed to its citizens not to visit Armenia due to the danger to life and unhealthy public stability.
Conclusion:
- Public and political stability in Armenia has not only improved, but has worsened, the criminogenic situation in the country has worsened, and the number of civil and other crimes has increased;
- The mentioned facts and statistics confirm that according to the number of crimes per 100,000 people, Armenia is one of the worst countries in the world;
- In the Crime Rate by Country 2023 report, inclusion of this country in the top 10 group and ranking in 9th place is a distortion of facts;
- If you pay attention to the figures released by the law enforcement and prosecutor's offices of Armenia, public organizations and registered crime statistics, it is possible to see that the Crime Rate by Country 2023 report is based on forgery and that Pashinyan is also lying.
